The Stag and The Doe
by bryshenners
Summary: Lily and James have been complete opposites for six years, he was a prankster, she was a hard worker. But one day, James begins to realise that he and Lily aren't so different after all, and when Lily starts to realise that people can change will she deny the growing feelings she has for the boy she's called a toe-rag for six years?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I'm not claiming to own anything Harry Potter related, The characters, the world and the whole concept belongs to J K Rowling, I'm just a huge fan using my own imagination. Not to publish or plagiarize someone else's work. Some characters have been written in as family members of characters mentioned in Miss Rowling's series.**

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James Potter was many things. He was a loyal and trusted friend, as he had proven to be so in his friendship group. He and two of his best friends, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black had spent years learning to become illegal animagi in order to help their other best friend Remus Lupin make his transformations into a werewolf more bearable. He was a prankster, he had actually lost count of the amount of detentions that he had had over the years due to the pranks he had pulled with his best friends. He was admired by most girls for being a chaser of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. To most people he was a good looking boy of seventeen who had the record breaking amount of detentions who still managed to get top grades in his examinations.

But to one girl, he was an annoying little toerag who pestered her to go out with him. That person was none other than Lily Evans. To James, she was more than just any girl. To James, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever met, with her long red hair the colour of a summer sunset and green eyes that he had never seen on another made her so. It wasn't just her unique looks. She had the most warming smile, just to look at her laugh and smile with her friends made him feel better on the crappiest day. The problem was, they were complete opposites. Lily studied well into the night if she had a huge workload, she took studying seriously. She worked hard to earn her prefect status when they had entered their fifth year, she had never had a detention.

It was on a blistering hot day in the middle of May of their sixth year when James started to realise that maybe he and Lily had more in common than they both originally thought. James was walking down the staircase that led to the entrance hall when he heard a loud shriek coming from the caretaker's office. He stopped and scratched his head. He knew that the boys hadn't planned any pranks on Filch today, so what was going on?

Filch came out of his office and all the students who were in the entrance hall burst into a fit of laughter. Whatever had happened to the caretaker, it was absolutely hilarious. Filch stood in the middle of the staircase, hair constantly growing from his face and down to the floor. His clothes had turned into what a caveman would wear. James burst into laughter along with other students who were arriving. The caretaker's cat emerged from the office, resembling a mini sabre tooth tiger. Whoever had pulled this prank on the caretaker, James had to salute them. This was even better than any prank that he and the other marauders had pulled.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily descending the staircase with a blonde haired girl with brown eyes. The other's girls name was Marlene McKinnon, she was one of Lily's best friends along with Mary McDonald and Alice Prewett. James had known Marlene since they were young children, their father's both worked at the Ministry and were life long friends since their own Hogwarts days. He looked at Lily and saw a mischievous glow in her eyes. He had never seen that in her before, it was amazing. It was almost as if she had something to do with it.

Lily met his gaze and grinned at him, her eyes lighting up as the sun burst through the window. James returned her grin and was about to walk over to her when...

"POTTER!" yelled Filch.

The laughter stopped and everyone turned to stare at the two of them. James let out a heavy sigh, the one time he hadn't actually had anything to do with this particular prank. Filch balled his hands into fists, the cat at his heel.

"It wasn't me," James sighed truthfully.

"Yeah right!" snapped Filch.

"It was me," Lily blurted.

Everyone in the hall turned to stare at Lily and they all stared at her in shock. Miss Goody Two Shoes pull a prank on the caretaker? It was so unlike her. James looked at her in shock too, he couldn't believe that Lily Evans would even dare to pull a prank. She was too good for that. There was a loud cough and everyone turned their attention from Lily to Professor McGonagall.

"Is this true, Miss Evans?" asked McGonagall.

Lily bowed her head and nodded.

"She got the idea from me," said James loudly.

Again everyone shifted their attention, placing their amused eyes on James. Lily looked up at James curious as to what was going to happen next. McGonagall studied the pair of them and tutted.

"I expected better from you Miss Evans, but Potter I can hardly say I'm surprised." said McGonagall sternly.

"Yes Professor," mumbled Lily.

"Detention tonight at eight o'clock. Scrubbing out cauldrons in the dungeons without magic," stated McGonagall.

The two of them nodded and conversation started up again as students carried on to where they needed to get to. Filch and the cat made their way towards the hospital wing to get themselves back to normal.

"Coming for lunch Lil?" asked Marlene.

"I'll catch you up," Lily smiled.

Marlene carried on towards the Great Hall when Lily turned to James with the angry glare that she reserved just for him.

"What was that all about?" hissed Lily.

"Evans, I was just trying to help." James defended.

"Listen Potter, you're not my knight in shining armour. I'm not yours to save," Lily stated.

James raised an eyebrow, "Like you had that situation under control," he said amused.

"I'd rather have detention myself than spend it with you!" she snapped.

James laughed as he ran a hand through his hair, "A couple of hours alone together, just what I've always dreamed of." he teased.

Lily rolled her eyes and scoffed in disbelief.

"Please, you have a whole group of girls who are willing to chuck their knickers at you. As if you'd rather spend a few hours alone with me, a girl who despises you." Lily said sarcastically.

"You know what Evans? Maybe you should relax around me a bit. I just did you a favour. You're lucky it's only a night's detention. If I hadn't stepped in you'd be faced with a week," stated James.

"Don't flatter yourself Potter, you just did it for the attention. You didn't do it to help me," replied Lily bitterly.

James raised an eyebrow, "See you tonight Evans." he muttered and headed towards the great hall.


	2. Chapter 2

Eight o'clock arrived rather quickly that night and James couldn't wait to spend a few hours alone with Lily, not just because he fancied her, but because he was rather intrigued as to how and why she had pulled that prank of Filch and Mrs Norris. Lily on the other hand, was dreading spending detention with James. She hated the way he showed off to his little fanclub of girls throwing themselves at him. He hexed multiple people, his favourite victim was Snape. Her friendship with Severus had ended a year ago because of James. If James hadn't hexed Snape then she wouldn't have had to defend her best friend, it was because Severus had called her a mudblood that she realised that they were heading down different paths. She often thought that if things had been different, would she still have her best friend? She didn't know the answer, she wasn't a seer.

Lily walked to one of the classrooms in the dungeon, luckily for her she had had years of practise with scrubbing and cleaning. Washing the dishes at home had always been her responsibility. The thought occurred to her that James probably hadn't scrubbed anything without the use of magic, she smirked as she thought of this. _Maybe tonight won't be so_ _bad _she thought to herself as she pushed open the door to enter the classroom.

James was already there, sat casually on top of a desk. He looked over to her with a massive grin on his face as she slammed the door shut. Lily strode over to him, arms folded and wearing the look of displeasure on her face that she always reserved for him. James ran a hand through his messy hair and didn't miss Lily rolling her eyes at him.

"Where's Professor Slughorn?" asked Lily.

"Popped to his office," replied James.

Lily nodded and placed her wand on the empty teacher's desk at the front of the classroom. She noticed that James was watching her closely, she turned back to face him starting to feel annoyance growing within her.

"Have I got something on my face Potter?" she snapped.

James smiled at her and shook his head. He always thought she was beautiful, even when she was annoyed or angry with him.

"So how did you do it?" asked James.

Lily opened her mouth to answer his question but couldn't, Professor Slughorn had entered the classroom. He smiled brightly at the two students and placed a bucket of hot water and two sponges on one of the front desks. He waved his wand and the dirty cauldrons appeared on the desk next to the bucket of water. Lily smiled to herself as she heard James groan out in response when Professor Slughorn told them to start scrubbing them out. She now had the evidence that James hadn't scrubbed a thing in his life.

James was still on his first cauldron by the time Lily had finished scrubbing her forth one. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Slughorn had fallen asleep. She snatched the cauldron from James and started scrubbing it.

"I could manage on my own," James pointed out.

Lily looked up at him, "Potter we've still got another ten to scrub and we've not even done five between us yet." she replied.

"I'm not used to this," James admitted as he watched Lily put effort into scrubbing the cauldron.

"Have house elves at home do you?" she asked.

"Yeah we do," muttered James.

"Luckily for you, washing up dirty dishes was my chore at home." sighed Lily.

James continued to watch Lily as she finished off the cauldron. Once cleaned, she placed it onto the teacher's desk with the other clean ones and placed another dirty cauldron in front of James before getting herself another one. They continued to scrub in silence, the only sound were the snores of Professor Slughorn that occasionally filled the room. James looked up to make sure that the potions master was deeply sleeping so that he could quiz Lily over her prank on the caretaker.

"So how'd you do it?" asked James.

Lily looked at him as she continued to scrub, debating whether or not she should tell him. James gave her a reassuring smile which gave her the feeling that she could confide in him. Like a friend. _But we aren't friends _Lily thought.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" questioned Lily.

"Because you're the goody goody prefect who has never had detention, let's just say I'm intrigued as to why Lily Evans would pull a prank on the caretaker." answered James.

Lily sighed, knowing that if she didn't tell James he'd just keep bugging her until she did.

"If you must know, a Slytherin first year broke a vase on the second floor corridor between lessons. The first year legged it and I was wrongly accused as I was passing that way. Filch took me into his office to put it on my school record," explained Lily.

"So you wanted revenge?" asked James.

Lily nodded, "Marlene's brother just got back from China and as a gift he gave Marley a trick potion which turns the drinker into a caveman and animals into prehistoric animals from that time period. Me and Marley sneaked into his office and put a few drops in his drink and in the cat's water. It only lasts a small time but it made me laugh and smile so I'm happy. You and the marauders have done worse," said Lily with a shrug.

James chuckled in amusement at Lily's explanation, he never thought that a hard working prefect like Lily Evans would have the guts to pull a prank on anyone. It was as if she were showing a side of her that she liked to hide.

"I didn't know you had it in you," James congratulated.

Lily blushed slightly as she finished scrubbing the cauldron, it made her slightly uncomfortable that James had congratulated her on the prank she had pulled. This was the first time where he wasn't pestering her to go on a date with him, it made her a little bit suspicious that he was up to something.

"Any plans for the summer?" asked James as they both placed the clean cauldrons onto the teacher's desk before taking more dirty ones for them to clean.

"Nothing much, stuck with a sister who hates me. You?" asked Lily.

"Sirius is living with me so I'm sure we'll get up to something. I usually hold a barbecue," replied James.

"Sounds nice," said Lily.

"Why don't you come?" asked James.

Lily eyed him suspiciously.

"Come to your barbecue?" Lily questioned.

"Why not? Marlene will be there. Our dads work together at the Ministry. Feel free to bring Alice and Mary," James said happily.

Lily raised a sceptical eyebrow, surely this had to be a trick.

"Owl me when it is and if I'm not busy I may come," replied Lily.

James beamed, "Great!" he cried.

Professor Slughorn stirred and opened his tired eyes, he stared at the two students in confusion.

"What's going on?" yawned Slughorn.

"Nothing Professor, we're nearly finished." smiled Lily.

Slughorn smiled in satisfaction and watched as Lily and James finished off cleaning the rest of the dirty cauldrons. The pair were finished by ten o'clock and made their way back to Gryffindor tower. When the two of them walked through the portrait hole, exhausted, Lily bade James goodnight and made her way up the girl's staircase. James walked up the winding staircase to his dormitory, happy that things seemed to be slowly changing between him and Lily. They might even be starting to develop a friendship.

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**A/N: So please let me know what you thought, all reviews are much appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

Their sixth year had come to and end and the students had returned home to spend the summer holidays with their families. The summer was the same as any other for Lily. The days she spent at home were uncomfortable with Petunia constantly calling her a freak and trying to avoid her. She often wrote to Marlene, Alice and Mary and had invited them round for dinner a few times, but they all felt uncomfortable with Petunia constantly looking down her nose at them.

It was a Friday afternoon in late July when she received a letter from James, she tore it open after recognising his handwriting on the front of the envelope.

_Dear Evans, _

_You remember that barbecue that I mentioned? Well I know it's short notice but it's tomorrow afternoon from four o'clock. Alice, Mary and Marlene will be there along with Remus, Peter and Sirius. We've also invited Frank Longbottom along and he's going to bring a few friends, hope to see you tomorrow. _

_Potter. _

Lily couldn't help but smile at how he had written the letter by using their last names, it had been that way since they had first met. She went upstairs to her bedroom to write a reply to James, she was actually looking forward to the barbecue it was a chance of getting out for the evening to escape Petunia's name calling and evil glares. Sometimes she thought her sister was acting like a small child whenever she was home.

She opened her bedroom door and sat down at the small pine desk in front of the window and pulled out some parchment from her trunk. Lily picked up the quill that was already on the desk and dipped it into the ink pot.

_Dear Potter,_

_You really need to work on your timing, you leave things to the last minute. But luckily for you I have no plans and a barbecue could be just what I need right now. Is there going to be drink? _

_Evans._

She folded the parchment up and addressed it to James before getting up from the desk and tying it her her barn owl Felix. The barn owl flew off into the afternoon sun and Lily awaited for James's reply. As she waited for Felix to return, her bedroom door burst open and Petunia stood in the doorway.

"Mum and Dad are going away for the weekend," stated Petunia.

"Okay I'll probably be out all weekend anyway," replied Lily.

Felix flew through the open window and landed on the desk, a letter tied to his leg. Petunia eyed the barn owl and Lily knew the look on her face very well. The expression on her sister's face had been one that she had worn since the day Lily found out that she was a witch. Petunia had hated her since and never called her by her first name.

"One of your freaky friends?" sneered Petunia.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Tuney, why can't you just accept me for who I am?" she asked.

Petunia narrowed her eyes, "Please. You're nothing but a freak. Always have been. Always will be." sneered Petunia and then she left the room.

Lily slammed the bedroom door shut in frustration before ripping open the letter from James.

_Evans_

_Yes there will be drink, me and Remus have been taking bets to when Sirius will pass out. Peter reckons when it gets dark. Hoping that you aren't intending to get too drunk but then again, the thought of you getting drunk is amusing. _

_See you tomorrow._

_Potter._

Lily grinned, tomorrow night would be exactly what she needed.

_Potter_

_I'm interested in seeing who will win this bet. Right now I need to have a good time._

_Evans._

Once again she tied the letter to the owl's leg and sent him flying off into the sky, she was really looking forward to seeing the girls again and seeing what a barbecue hosted by James Potter would be like.

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**The Next Day...**

Lily took a deep breath and knocked on the door, she smiled when she saw James open it. He took her jacket as he invited her inside the house. _He's staring again _Lily thought to herself as she watched James look her up and down in the white strapless summer dress she was wearing, her red hair fell neatly over her shoulders. James met Lily's eyes and gave her a warm smile.

"Glad you could make it," said James.

"Well I had nothing to do tonight," replied Lily.

James nodded and led her through to the kitchen where Sirius and Remus were handing out drinks to the other people who had arrived before she had.

"Lily Evans!" said Sirius in a tone of surprise.

"Alright Black?" asked Lily.

"Now I'd be better if your lovely best friend McKinnon would make make fantasies come true," Sirius grinned.

"Oh Black you can keep dreaming because that is never going to happen," said a voice.

Lily turned and greeted Marlene with a hug before being handed a beer from James.

"So who else is here?" asked Lily.

"Amos Diggory, Frank Longbottom, Amelia Bones, Emmeline Vance." said Peter.

"They're out in the garden on the barbecue," said Remus.

Lily took a swig of her beer and went out into the garden with Marlene and watched as the burgers flipped on the barbecue and Frank took the already cooked ones and placed them on a plate for people to help themselves. They put on the wireless and listened to the latest music from various wizarding bands and singers. The sun was nearly setting when Amos, Amelia and Emmeline left the house to go home, Frank remained behind. Lily, who had been watching Frank flirt with Alice all night, guessed that his plan to stay was to do with her best friend.

"So Ali, what's the deal with you and Frank?" asked Marlene in a low voice.

The group were sat in James's back garden on the freshly mown lawn, the boys had gone back into the house to bring out more alcohol for them to drink. The three girls grinned when they saw Alice flush scarlet.

"It's just harmless flirting," mumbled Alice.

"I think our Ali has a little crush on Frankie," cooed Mary.

"Shut up!" protested Alice.

"Awww I think it's sweet," gushed Lily.

Alice continued to get redder in the face as the girls teased her over her flirting with Frank, she could deny her crush for Frank all she liked but Alice knew that her friends could see when she liked someone.

The boys returned with more beers and some pint glasses, they sat down next to the girls in a circle as the sky began to fade from reds and oranges to a deep navy blue. Sirius suggested playing a drinking game when James chucked a galleon into his pint glass, the object of the game was to drink the beer without touching the coin. Sirius, who loved a challenge, drained the pint in one go without touching the coin but five minutes later he passed out on the lawn.

James laughed and chucked a galleon at Remus, Lily smirked at the pair when she realised that Remus must have won the bet that they had made. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Alice and Frank head back inside the house, she only guessed that it was for something more than 'harmless flirting'. The rest of them moved back into the house as the night got colder, Remus and Peter carried a passed out Sirius to his bedroom whilst Mary and Marlene retired to the room they would be sharing for the night, leaving James and Lily alone together.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked James.

"Just what I needed," sighed Lily happily.

They went into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa, listening to their friends stumbling into various rooms.

"I wonder where Alice and Frank went too," mused Lily.

James smirked, "I caught them snogging in my dad's study, they've fallen asleep on the sofa in there." he said quietly.

Lily smiled as her eyelids began to get heavy.

"Evans, do you really think I'm that bad?" asked James.

Lily looked at him and shook her head, "You just show off too much. You want to impress me but you're going the wrong way about it," she sighed.

James raised an eyebrow.

"So how do I go about impressing you?"

Lily closed her eyes and sighed sleepily.

"Don't show off as much for a start," she yawned.

"Anything else?" asked James.

"Don't hex people," she added.

"I haven't as much as I used too," James defended.

Lily opened her eyes to look at him, she couldn't argue with that one. During their sixth year the amount of hexing people that James used to had gone down quite a lot, he still did it but not as much as he used to.

"Alright Potter, I'll let you have that one." she smiled.

James grinned, "Evans do one thing for me?" he asked.

Lily regarded him cautiously, "What's that Potter?" she questioned.

"Call me James, responding to you calling me 'Potter' since first year has begun to get quite boring." James complained.

Lily grinned, "Play your cards right and I might agree to your request." she replied.

Then she fell asleep.

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**A/N: So hope you lovelies like this chapter, leave a review? **

**Just to warn you all I'm moving home at the end of the month/middle of February so I will be without an internet connection for some time, will update before then but on the last chapter I will explain for you all not to expect an update due to the move. There's also the added pressure of my partner getting a new job and I'm in the process of new job interviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

Since James's barbecue, Lily had often wrote to the boy she had loathed since her first year. She found their witty and sarcastic comments to each other rather amusing and had arranged with the girls to meet with the marauders in early August to shop for their school supplies in Diagon Alley. Marlene had been the only one who was dreading spending the whole day with Sirius. Mary was rather excited about the get together and Lily suspected that she had a crush on Remus or Peter.

The day of the get together came around rather quickly. Lily bade goodbye to her parents when the girls knocked on her front door and all of them made their way into a alley so that no muggles could witness them apparate to the leaky cauldron. They met the boys inside the pub that wasn't visible to non magical eyes and all of them made their way into the crowded shopping street.

It was in Flourish and Blotts when Lily discovered that James had seemed to take her advice about not hexing people. Everyone else had already paid and it was just her and Marlene left to pay for their books, but what Lily hadn't realised was that stood behind them were Snape, Avery and Mulciber.

"McKinnon, you're still hanging around with mudblood filth like Evans?" sneered Avery.

"Thought you had better taste McKinnon." tutted Mulciber.

Marlene thrust her gold into the shop assistant's hands and turned to face the Slytherin boys.

"I have better taste than you Mulciber." Marlene snapped.

"Although for a mudblood, Evans is quite hot." complimented Avery.

"Why don't we give you a taste of what a pureblood is like?" Mulciber suggested sickly as he grabbed Lily by the upper arm.

As Lily struggled to free herself, James came up to to them. A look of anger on his face as he drew his wand from his pocket.

"Let her go." James demanded calmly.

The shop went quiet and the shop assistant asked them to take it outside but they refused to leave. Sirius and Remus entered the shop and stood behind James. Sirius grabbed Marlene out of wand's aim and held her close to him. For once in her life, Marlene didn't protest about having Sirius near her. Lily looked at James pleadingly, not wanting him to get into trouble outside of school. They were all seventeen now and could legally be charged and sent to Azkaban if things escalated badly.

Mulciber still refused to let go of Lily as she squirmed trying to free her arm. James continued to glare murderously at Mulciber with his wand still raised.

"James please don't do anything stupid." Lily implored.

James looked at Lily and for the first time he looked confused, she had called him by his first name. She had never done that before. He put his wand away, fulfilling her request and grabbed Lily by the other arm and pulled as Mulciber let go. James had pulled her too hard, so Lily went crashing into his chest and they both fell on the floor, with Lily on top of James.

"Evans don't you worry. I'll give you a taste of pureblood one day." promised Mulciber with a sick grin and the three boys left the shop.

The crowd burst into conversation and the shop assistant continued to serve customers. Lily got to her feet and pulled James to his, her eyes full of thanks. She paid for her school books and they all left the bookshop together, wanting to get away from the stares of people who had witnessed the incident in the shop. As Remus, Sirius and Marlene walked ahead, Lily turned to James.

"You didn't have to do that back there." she stated.

"I wanted to." replied James.

"What's gotten into you? You didn't curse Mulciber and you didn't even make a stupid comment about me collapsing on top of you." said Lily.

James smiled, "Maybe I'm trying to get into your good books." he admitted.

Lily blushed as she remembered their conversation weeks previous at James's barbecue. She and James hadn't spoken about that conversation since that night.

"Well thanks I appreciate it." she smiled.

"Thanks for calling me by my first name." replied James.

Lily smiled and they walked faster to catch up to their friends.

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After a long day of shopping, the group decided to go for a butterbeer in the leaky cauldron before heading their separate ways. James got the drinks in as the rest of the group made their way to a deserted table at the back of the pub. Marlene sat next to Sirius, having found herself comfortable to be by his side since the incident at Flourish and Blotts earlier that day.

James returned to the table and handed out the drinks as the group talked excitedly about their upcoming seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Alice commented on how they should all do something to make it a memorable one as it was the last time they would go to the castle as students. Remus starting up a conversation with Mary when Marlene and Sirius excused themselves to go to the loo.

They walked together to the corridor where the toilets were but before Marlene could enter the ladies, Sirius lightly tapped her wrist. She turned to face him, her blonde hair whipping over her shoulder.

"What's up?" she asked brightly.

"Marley will you go out with me sometime?" asked Sirius.

Marlene raised an eyebrow, "As in a shag Black?" she asked.

Sirius chuckled but shook his head.

"By all means if that's what you'd prefer," he hinted.

Marlene rolled her eyes.

"No I actually meant a date like to Hogsmeade or whatever when we're back at school." said Sirius.

Marlene looked confused, Sirius Black had never done dates with anyone as far as she knew. Was this a first time thing for him?

"What's the catch? You want me to sleep with you after? Sweetie it's going to take so much more than a date to get into my knickers." said Marlene.

Sirius grinned, "No catch I swear. But if you want to sleep with me I won't object." he flirted.

Marlene chuckled.

"Alright Black. One date and we'll see how that goes." she agreed.

"And if that goes well?" he asked hopeful.

Marlene shoved him away from her playfully.

"If that goes well you'll get a second date." replied Marlene.

"And then do I get to see if you wear matching undies?" asked Sirius.

"No, that's more of a fifth date thing." said Marlene.

"Five dates? Marley you honestly don't know that you're killing me here!" whined Sirius.

Marlene grinned, "Well play your cards right and we'll see if you get as many as five dates with me." she replied and then disappeared into the ladies loo.

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**A/N: Sorry been a while since I updated, let me know what you think please :) **


	5. Chapter 5

"Congratulations Lily, no-one deserves Head Girl more than you." beamed Mary.

Lily smiled as they got onto the Hogwarts express after saying her goodbyes to her parents, she and Mary stumbled into an empty compartment with their luggage and Lily's owl and placed their trunks in the storage compartments above their heads.

"Morning all." said Marlene brightly.

"Hey Marley," replied Mary.

"Head Girl's badge suits you Lily." Alice complimented as she joined them all in the compartment.

Lily smiled as they all finished piling their luggage into the storage compartments and sat down on the seats briefly. She'd only get a small moment alone with her friends before heading off to the prefect's carriage to give out assignments and patrol the corridors of the train for a little while. She had no idea who the Head Boy was, but she found out sooner than she had expected.

The marauders entered their compartment and started loading their luggage into the overhead compartments. The girls looked at the boys with odd expressions, they certainly hadn't been expecting to be spending their journey back to school with the pranksters.

"What are you lot doing here?" asked Marlene.

"No other compartments." Sirius replied in an innocent tone.

"Yeah right." Marlene snorted.

Lily chuckled.

"Right I'm off I'll see you all in a little while." said Lily.

The group made their goodbyes as Lily left the compartment, she hadn't realised that James had left the compartment as well and was following her up the narrow corridor of the train. He made her jump out of her skin when he placed a hand on her shoulder in order to stay close to her.

"Jesus Potter!" she complained.

"What?" asked James.

"Why are you following me?" asked Lily as they continued to walk down the corridor.

"I figured I'd let you lead the way Head Girl." James grinned.

Lily turned to look at him, she was feeling slightly confused as to why he wanted her to lead the way. But lead the way where? she thought to herself. She knew where she was going. After a minute, it clicked in her head as to where James wanted her to take him. Lily stopped in her tracks and turned herself to face James completely.

"You're the Head Boy?!" Lily shrieked.

James grinned, "I am indeed." he confirmed.

"How?" asked Lily, still in shock.

"My grades were up last term." shrugged James.

"Hmm.." Lily hummed suspiciously.

James followed Lily as they continued down the corridor and finally reached the prefect's compartment. They went through explaining all the prefects duties to all the fifth years who had been selected as the new prefects. Lily felt a little confused when James took over on how the prefect nightly patrols would work and what powers the prefects had.

Once the meeting concluded, James and Lily patrolled the corridors for a little while to make sure that there wasn't any trouble going on. Lily was still baffled that Dumbledore gave the Head Boy position to James Potter after all the pranks and mischief he caused and all the detentions that he had had over the years. After an hour of confiscating fanged frisbees and other items that were banned from Hogwarts, they returned to the compartment where their friends were waiting for them.

They sat down and were handed several treats that the others had picked up for them, having missed the lunch trolley themselves. James and Lily tucked into chocolate frogs as Marlene questioned as to how James had been made Head Boy.

"Potter you can't have got the position, this has to be another prank that you and Sirius pulled?" Marlene insisted for the third time since the conversation had started up.

"Marley, he had far less detentions last year than he did in fifth year. His grades were up last year and he could have done some serious damage to Avery, Mulciber and Snivellus after the incident at Flourish and Blotts but he didn't. So give it a rest yeah?" said Sirius in a bored tone of voice.

Marlene glared at Sirius evilly but it was clear that she couldn't argue with Sirius defence of his best friend. Lily chuckled as her best friend sat in sulky silence for the remainder of the journey. When the driver announced that they were only ten minutes away from Hogwarts, the group quickly changed into their uniform. Lily's heart pounded fast in her chest, she had been looking forward to returning to school since the moment she got off the train at King's Cross at the start of the summer. The summer had been a good one, she constantly hung out with her friends but it was the fact that at school she could escape Petunia and the constant 'freak' that her sister spat at her.

The train pulled to a slow stop at Hogsmeade station and the group scrambled off the train and headed for the carriages that would take them up to the school. As the group stepped into the carriage they had taken, Lily looked up at the castle turrets and smiled. She was finally home.


	6. Chapter 6

The only source of light came from the tip of Lily and James's wands as they patrolled the corridors on a wet night in October. It was raining so hard outside the castle, which was only made worse when the harsh wind blew and rattled at the windows. James let out a heavy yawn, he was shattered. Seventh year was proving hard for him. Between keeping his grades up, Quidditch practice and his Head Boy duties he hadn't had a minute to spare to help the boys play any pranks.

Lily checked her watch underneath the dimly lit wand she carried and she too, let out a heavy yawn. They turned a corner and met Professor McGonagall in the middle of the corridor.

"Potter, Evans." Professor McGonagall greeted.

"Professor, we haven't caught anyone out of bed." Lily replied.

"Good, you can return to your dormitory. Good Night." said McGonagall.

"Night Professor." yawned James.

Lily and James made their way back to the common room, walking in silence. Both too tired to even try and converse with the other. Once they reached the portrait of the fat lady, said the password and entered through the portrait hole, Lily waved her wand and out of nowhere; her schoolbag appeared from down the winding staircase that led to the girl's sleeping quarters.

"You seriously aren't doing homework now are you?" asked James in disbelief.

Lily looked at James and shrugged as she sat down in front of the fire and pulled out her Transfiguration homework. James rolled his eyes and sat opposite her, knowing that Transfiguration wasn't her strong point when it came to lessons. James, was top of Transfiguration; having learned to become an illegal animagi in his fifth year. His reasons for doing so was that his best friend was a werewolf and Remus's transformations were painful and lonely. So he, Sirius and Peter had decided to learn to transform into animals in order to give Remus a bit of company once a month when he became an uncontrollable animal. Since they had done so, Remus had said that his transformations had become more bearable. Becoming animagi also allowed the four of them to get to know the grounds and secrets of the castle a lot better.

He watched Lily carefully as she opened her Transfiguration book and flicked through the pages until she had the correct one, and then began to scribble on her half finished essay. James found it fascinating as he watched her study. He loved how her eyes stared at the parchment in utter concentration, how her lips pursed together as she read from the book.

She placed the finished essay and textbook back into her bag and pulled out goblet. Lily placed the goblet onto the table and pulled out her wand. James sighed, wondering how painful it would be to watch Lily attempt to transfigure the goblet into a bird like they were shown to in class. McGonagall had told them to practice the spell and have it perfected by the next lesson.

He chuckled lightly as he watched Lily attempt the spell a few times and each time, the goblet didn't turn into a bird. On one attempt, the goblet produced wings and tried to fly off the table but due to the weight of the goblet and the small wings, it was unable to get anywhere. Lily groaned in frustration as she threw her wand down onto the table and glared at James evilly when he chuckled at her.

"It's not funny James!" Lily groaned.

James smiled amusingly at her, "Would you like some help?" he asked.

"Please." she replied curtly.

James rose to so that he could sit next to her. He picked her wand up and placed it in her hand once more. James noticed that she tensed as he placed his hands on her shoulders to get her to relax.

"Right now you need to breathe in and out slowly." he instructed.

He could feel her breathing beginning to slow as she nestled into him, his head touching hers just millimetres away from her ear.

"Good, now close your eyes and concentrate on visualising the goblet as the bird." he whispered.

Lily closed her eyes and did as James instructed her, she felt his hand move down her arm and she shivered at the close contact. His hand rested on top of hers and he carefully showed her what motion she had to use in order to get the spell to work.

"You feel the gentle flick that I making you do?" James asked.

Lily said nothing but nodded, her eyes still closed.

"It's all the hand movement, it has to be gentle. Don't flick it hard and only move your wrist a little when you use the wand motion." James muttered.

Lily breathed in again slowly and nodded once more.

"Right now what I want you to do when I let go, is to say the spell in your head as you continue to visualise the bird. Gently flick your hand toward the goblet." said James.

After James counted to three and let go, Lily did as James had instructed her. She opened her eyes as she heard a light tweeting sound and saw that a small bluebird stood on the table where the goblet had been before she had closed her eyes.

"I did it!" she sang happily.

James smiled at her and together they watched as the bluebird flew around the room. After a few moments the bird settled itself back down onto the table and it turned back into a goblet, the spell only worked for a short time. Lily turned to James with a huge beam on her face, her green eyes lit up by the firelight.

"Thank you." Lily breathed.

"It's no problem, Transfiguration is my best subject." James shrugged.

"You're really good at it." Lily noted.

"See I do care about grades." he chuckled.

"I have to say Potter, you've changed somehow." Lily mused.

James raised an eyebrow.

"I mean you haven't had one detention since we've been back, I haven't seen you hex anyone for fun. You're grades are up and the prank I pulled on Filch actually made me realise how much fun you and the boys have when you pull that kind of stuff and you've actually taken your head boy duties seriously. Have you been abducted by aliens?" she asked seriously.

"No Lily." he replied.

"It's like we have more in common than I first realised." Lily muttered.

"I'm glad you think so." James smiled.

Without realising how close they were, their foreheads bumped together. They both closed their eyes and were breathing heavily, their hearts beating fast with nerves. But before their lips could meet the others, there was a loud clang from the boy's staircase. Both Lily and James jumped apart and saw Sirius walking down the stairs, carrying his trunk. Sirius appeared to be sleep walking and the contents of his trunk were clattering down the stairs. But the clanging didn't wake Sirius up.

James held back a laugh when he saw Peter and Remus slowly walking behind Sirius in their pyjamas. Peter had his wand pointed at Sirius, so it was evident what the boys had been up to.

"What the hell?" asked Lily, with an amused smile on her face as she looked at the other two marauders.

"He set dungbombs off in our beds." whispered Remus.

Lily chuckled and James turned to face her, she gave him a reassuring smile.

"Night James." she whispered.

"Night Lily." James replied softly.

With that, Lily gathered up her belongings and disappeared up the girl's staircase. James turned back to his friends and although he found their prank on Sirius amusing, he couldn't help but curse them silently for interrupting his moment with Lily.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, I've been working on another story that's had a lot of popular demand for more. Enjoy this chapter and keep the reviews coming :) **


	7. Chapter 7

Halloween was only around the corner and once more at Hogwarts and there was a buzz of excitement in the air as everyone from the third year upwards began to talk about the trip to Hogsmeade. The trips to Hogsmeade tended to be a traditional way of asking someone out on a date and Sirius was determined to get himself his first date with Marlene McKinnon.

He strode into the Great hall the Thursday before Halloween weekend and smiled in satisfaction when he saw that Marlene was sat alone, eating breakfast at the Gryffindor table. He walked over to where she was sitting and sat opposite her, staring at her intently. Marlene looked up from her newspaper and dropped her spoon back into her porridge as she met Sirius's gaze.

"Sirius, what can I do for you?" asked Marlene brightly.

Sirius smiled as he helped himself to some toast and pumpkin juice, leaving Marlene sitting on the edge before he answered her question. He took several big bites of his toast and large gulps to finish his pumpkin juice before he met her gaze once more.

"Come to Hogsmeade with me Marley?" he asked.

Marlene smiled, "You leave it two days before the trip happens?" she questioned.

Sirius grinned.

"You know me baby, I'm not one who is organised. I leave everything to the last minute." Sirius chuckled.

Marlene rolled her eyes as she picked up her spoon and took another spoonful of her porridge. Sirius watched her closely with a small smile on his face, wanting her to say yes to a date with him. Marlene McKinnon had captured his interest when they were in their fifth year, around the same time that James started noticing Lily a little bit more than he usually did. It wasn't just her long blonde hair, warm chocolate brown eyes and slim figure that attracted Sirius. Sure Marlene was quite the gorgeous girl and Sirius could understand why Slytherin scum like Mulciber and Avery would be interested in her, but Sirius liked her for more than her looks. Sirius liked the witty banter that went on between them, he loved to watch her laugh with Lily, Alice and Mary and how just the sound of it made him feel better on a crappy day. He liked that she was intelligent and one of the top students in Defence Against the Dark Arts. The scum that were Mulciber and Avery only ever wanted one thing, and although Sirius couldn't deny that he'd love to have his fantasies about Marlene come true, he wasn't going to use her just for that. He liked her more than he had ever like any other girl he had ever been with.

"You know Black, I think I will. I did agree when we were at The Leaky Cauldron a few months ago." Marlene smiled.

Sirius grinned from ear to ear as he helped himself to the paper that Marlene hadn't yet finished reading, earning himself a dirty look from the blonde haired girl.

"Sweet, I'll meet you in the entrance hall at eleven on Saturday." replied Sirius, flicking over the pages of Marlene's newspaper.

Marlene nodded and rose from the table, deciding to head back to the tower to grab her schoolbag before lessons started.

* * *

Lily was already dressed for lessons and had her schoolbag flung over one shoulder when she left Gryffindor tower that morning. Since the night that she had nearly kissed James, she was trying to avoid him, she suddenly felt confused about her feelings. James Potter was a boy she had thought she had disliked since she had first met him on the Hogwarts Express all those years ago. She had grown to think of him as a friend since their detention together at the end of sixth year and he had certainly changed, she couldn't deny that. He had become a little bit more mature and she hadn't realised it until recently.

It was harder to avoid James than she had originally thought. They had the majority of their classes together so she always made sure that she took the best seats in the classroom before the class piled in, this was an attempt to be sitting as far away from him as possible. She dodged him in the halls, always made sure she was with Marlene, Alice or Mary so that she wouldn't be alone with him during mealtimes or when they were sat in the common room.

Luckily for Lily, James was mostly at Quidditch practice most evenings preparing for the first match of the season. When she knew that practice was most likely going to finish, she made the habit of going for a shower or heading to bed a bit earlier than usual. What she hadn't counted on was that her friends were beginning to notice her strange behaviour when it came to James but none of them felt the timing was right to question her over it.

Unluckily for her, James was the Head Boy. So far she had managed to pretend to be ill with a headache or a bad cold when it came to them doing their nightly patrols. She went to McGonagall when she had said she was feeling ill and although the Transfiguration professor was starting to get annoyed that Lily was backing out of her duties as Head Girl, McGonagall had told James that he was doing the nightly patrols alone. But Lily knew that she couldn't avoid doing her Head Girl duties forever.

As she walked down the stairs that led to the entrance hall, she gasped in surprise when she felt a light grip on her upper arm, marching her to the nearest broom cupboard and locking the two of them in the cupboard. She turned around to see it was James who had dragged her into the cupboard, wondering why he had done such a thing. She glared as he cast a silencing charm around them, so that their conversation couldn't be heard.

"James, I would like to eat before classes start!" Lily complained.

James moved towards her, his hazel eyes sparkling. _God he's gorgeous _Lily thought silently to herself. He was only inches away from her, she could feel his breath on her face.

"You've been avoiding me." stated James.

Lily took a deep breath, just his closeness was enough to stop her thinking straight.

"I've been busy." she lied.

James chuckled quietly as he continued to stare into her eyes.

"More like you've been feeling awkward since the night we nearly kissed." replied James.

"I-

Before she could answer, she felt James's soft lips covering her own, gently moving with hers as she found herself wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt a fluttering in her stomach as she felt his strong arms snake around her waist, holding her close to him. She ran one her hands through his messy black hair and smiled against his lips as she felt one of his hands travel up her back to stroke the tips of her hair that settled just above her bra clasp.

After a few minutes, Lily pulled away to gasp for air; deciding that she had dreamed that she had just had her first kiss with James Potter. She steadied her breathing and managed to look James in the eye once more. As her eyes met his, she couldn't help but return the smile that James was giving her.

"Feel less awkward for you now?" asked James.

"A little." Lily mumbled.

James chuckled as he uncast the silencing charm and unlocked the door, gesturing for the two of them to go and get some breakfast. Lily exited the cupboard with James and the two of them crossed the entrance hall.

"Lily?" asked James.

Lily turned to him once more.

"Yes James?" she questioned.

"Will you come to Hogsmeade with me?" he asked.

Lily sighed happily and nodded her head.

As they entered the Great Hall, both of them felt that today was going to be a better day than they had anticipated.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter coming soon, as always please review :) **


	8. Chapter 8

It was finally Saturday and Marlene and Lily woke up that morning both feeling giddy with nerves over their dates with two of the marauders. Although for Lily, James hadn't actually declared them going to the village together as a 'date'. She wondered if James was going to kiss her again and whether things would still be awkward between them when she met him in the entrance hall later in the morning.

Lily stretched and sat up in her bed, yawning loudly. She smiled when she noticed that Marlene was rummaging through her dresser trying to choose something to wear. Alice was sat on her bed choosing what accessories to match her outfit making Lily chuckled quietly to herself. It seemed that she wasn't the only person who was fretting over a date.

"Who are the lucky guys?" she asked as her feet touched the stone floor.

Both Marlene and Alice looked over at Lily, both hadn't noticed that she had been watching them.

"Frank Longbottom." replied Alice, blushing tomato red.

Lily grinned as she walked over to Alice.

"He's a sweet boy, he'll probably just be as nervous as you are." she said confidently.

"You think Lil?" asked Alice.

Lily nodded and picked up a necklace that Alice had left on the bed. It was a turquoise beaded necklace that matched the floral printed t-shirt that Alice had placed on her bed, on the top there were little turquoise flowers among bigger lilac ones.

"I think this will match the top that you want to wear." said Lily.

Alice beamed and went took her clothes, rushing out of the room to go to the girl's shower room. Lily turned to Marlene, whose entire collection of clothes were strewn across her bed and the floor. Marlene groaned in frustration as she sat on the bed, throwing the last top she owned onto the floor. Lily chuckled once more and began to pick up Marlene's clothes, folding them one by one before placing them in a neat pile on the bed.

"You still haven't told me who it is." Lily stated.

Marlene frowned at her, "Who?" she asked.

"The boy you're going on a date with. You only get worked up over what clothes to wear when there's a boy involved." Lily replied.

Marlene sighed and bit her lip, making Lily certain that Marlene thought that she would disapprove her date.

"Okay, but first you have to promise not to get mad or to laugh at me." said Marlene.

Lily blinked, "Why would I do both at once?" she asked.

"You'll either do one or the other." Marlene grumbled.

"Just tell me Marley." Lily pleaded.

"Alright!" Marlene groaned.

Lily grinned as she waited for Marlene to reveal the identity of her date.

"It's Sirius Black." Marlene confessed.

Lily froze, she hadn't expected her best friend to be going on a date with the best friend of the boy she was going on a date with. She looked at Marlene and blinked a few times before giving her best friend a smile.

"Why did you think I'd be mad or laugh at you?" she questioned.

Marlene shrugged.

"You've never really liked James or Sirius." Marlene answered.

Lily slightly blushed at the mention of James's name and she started to look through the pile of clothes, hoping to help her best friend with an outfit to wear. However, Marlene had noticed that she had blushed at the mention of James.

"Lily?"

Lily looked up after having picked out a long black top for Marlene to wear.

"Hmm?" Lily hummed.

"Is there something going on between you and James?" asked Marlene.

Lily paused, not expecting Marlene to have asked her this. She gave the top over to Marlene and sighed.

"Lily, you can tell me anything." Marlene reminded her.

Lily turned to face Marlene and gave her best friend a small smile.

"I know, it's just I don't know what's happening with us." Lily replied.

"What do you mean?" asked Marlene, feeling intrigued.

"James and I shared a kiss." Lily confessed.

Marlene's eyes were wide in surprise, chucking the top behind where she sat.

"Wow, Lily I thought you hated Potter." said Marlene.

Lily shrugged, "He's changed a bit, not so cocky anymore. Surely I can see how one date goes?" she asked.

Marlene nodded and then picked up the discarded top and left the room to hit the showers. Lily sighed and riffled through her own dresser before deciding on a pair of long white top with a pair of black leggings. As James hadn't stated that they were going on a date, she thought it best to keep her dress code as casual but yet still look nice.

At ten-thirty, Alice, Marlene and Lily walked down to the Great Hall to grab something to eat before meeting the boys. They sat at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to some toast when they noticed Mary(who had already gotten up before they had that morning) strolling over to them dreamily.

"What's up Mary?" asked Alice.

Mary smiled happily as she poured herself a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"I'm going to the village with Remus." Mary replied.

Lily chuckled, causing Mary to look at her defensively.

"Remus is a great guy-

"Shut up you idiot, I wasn't laughing at you going with Remus. He's a lovely boy." said Lily.

"Then why were you laughing?" asked Mary.

"Because Marlene's going with Sirius and I'm going with James. It seems that three out of the four seem to be getting a date with us three." Lily replied.

Mary's eyes were wide at the news that two of her best friends were going out with two of the marauders, only she wasn't entirely sure which one was more surprising.

"Awwh Lily loves James." sang Alice.

Lily kicked Alice's leg under the table.

"Ouch! Lil that hurt!" Alice complained.

"Sorry Ali, just make sure you take a breath mint before you play tonsil tennis with Franky." Lily grinned.

Alice flushed red again and said nothing in reply, merely taking smaller bites from her toast. The girls nattered on about the places they'd like to go to when out with the boys when the clock chimed eleven o'clock. The four rose from the table and went out into the entrance hall to meet the boys. Lily's heart started hammering away with nerves, she had been alone with James on many occasions since they had been back at school, but this would be the first time she would alone with him since they had shared a kiss. She was only hoping that he didn't regret doing so, she certainly didn't.

When she saw James, she thought her heart was going to stop. Although he wore a pair of jeans and a black shirt, his hair still in the same messy way with his glasses sitting on his nose; he looked simply gorgeous. And it was in that moment that she realised that the boy she had called a toe-rag for the most of their schooling, she was beginning to have feelings for.

James was stood next to Sirius and Remus by the housepoint hourglasses, all three of them looking at the four girls as they crossed the entrance hall. Alice said her goodbyes as she met Frank by the doors to get signed out. Remus was the first to leave the group as he walked over to Mary and took hold of her hand.

"Why does he have to do that flipping smirk!" Marlene whispered in an irritated tone.

Lily looked at Sirius who, as Marlene had complained, was wearing his famous smirk, the smirk that told people he was in a flirtatious and joking mood.

"I don't know." Lily replied.

The two girls met the remaining two boys, an awkward silence building.

"Ready to go Marley baby?" asked Sirius.

Marlene rolled her eyes and tugged on his sleeve, indicating that they should get going.

"Don't call me that." Marlene insisted.

"Whatever you say sweetheart." Sirius grinned.

"Don't call me that either." Marlene hissed.

Lily watched as she and James walked slowly behind the two of them to the doors to sign out, smiling as she overheard the conversation between her best friend and Sirius.

"Would you prefer sexy arse instead?" Sirius teased.

It was then Marlene hit him on the arm.

"Play nice Marley." Lily tutted.

Marlene rolled her eyes once more and turned to Sirius.

"Let's get this over with Black." Marlene grumbled.

Sirius gave Lily and James a parting grin before looping arms with Marlene, Lily laughed as she watched Marlene unfold her arm from Sirius's and moved a foot away from the Black boy as they strolled down the path.

James signed the two of them out and they walked out into the sunlight and began walking down the driveway. It then occurred to her that there was no-one around them now, it was just the two of them.

"So erm how have you been?" asked James.

"Okay I guess, you?" asked Lily.

"Erm yeah I've been alright." James replied.

The two of them carried on walking but stopped as they passed the metal gates and stood on the path that led towards the village.

"This is awkward." Lily muttered.

"Just a tad." James agreed.

Lily looked into his hazel eyes, her heart skipping a beat.

"It's confusing, we're not supposed to like each other." she blurted out.

James's eyebrows skidded up in surprise, a grin forming on his face. Lily covered her mouth, but realised it was to late to take back what she had just told him.

"You like me?" asked James.

"No!" Lily replied defensively.

"You just said-

Lily huffed in annoyance as she started to walk towards the village, James running to catch up with her; the grin still on his face.

"Lily-

"You're an arrogant toe-rag Potter." Lily growled, continuing to walk.

"And you're a goody two-shoes!" James yelled.

"Just forget I said anything." she demanded.

"How can I when we're supposed to be on a date?" asked James.

Lily stopped in her tracks, turning to face James. Surely he hadn't just confirmed her thoughts?

"Who says this is a date?" she questioned.

James grinned as he finally closed the gap between them, placing her long red hair over her shoulder. Lily shivered when his hand stroked her cheek.

"I thought it was obvious." James whispered.

Before Lily could reply, James mouth covered her own; kissing her enthusiastically. Her arms went of their own accord around his neck as his circled around her waist; pulling her closer to him. She felt his tongue against her lips and she parted them to allow him to caress her own, sliding along the roof of her mouth. Kissing James Potter, she had always thought of the notion as being quite disgusting; kissing a boy she didn't really like was supposed to be horrible. But here she ways, her heart fluttering away happily in her chest as her tongue battled with his, her hands running through his messy black hair. It felt far from horrible, she never wanted to stop kissing him.

When he finally pulled away from her, she gasped for breath. His arms were still around her waist, as hers were still around his neck. Two kisses within a few days of each other, she felt quite lucky. Lily looked up at James, returning his warm smile.

"Where would you like to go?" asked James.

"Go?" she asked, blinking in confusion.

James chuckled in amusement and pointed to the cobbled streets that shops were lined up.

"Oh the village!" she said, smacking her forehead.

He took her hand and folded it in his, continuing to smile as they headed up the cobbled street.

"How about Honeydukes?" James suggested.

Lily smiled, "Honeydukes." she agreed.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while, but I hope you like this chapter. Please let me know what you think :)**


	9. Chapter 9

It was the first week of November and Lily had never felt more confused in her whole life. When she was a little girl, Petunia had always told her that boys had 'germs' and that they played games with girls at schools like 'kiss chase' to pass on these germs. Petunia had always told her that girls couldn't be friends with boys, and Lily being the younger sibling; had believed Petunia.

From a young age, Lily knew that there was something different about her. How she could leap from the swings at the park at the highest point and land on her feet gracefully; with no marks on her to suggest that she could have hurt herself. Picking a daisy from the grass and holding it in her hand and watching as she made the petals open and close repeatedly. Petunia told her to stop because people would find her weird and she'd be taken away to be experimented on.

She met Severus Snape, who told her what she truly was. Severus had shown her that it was okay to be different and that she wasn't alone. He was a wizard and she was a witch. Then she got her letter from Hogwarts and had never felt happier to know what adventures that she'd go on, with Severus at her side. Severus had become her best friend; it was the letter and her friendship with the Snape boy that caused her relationship with her sister to turn sour. Petunia constantly called her a freak from the day she got on the Hogwart's Express.

When she started at Hogwarts, she realised that Petunia had been wrong in saying that you couldn't be friends with boys. Although she had her friendship with Severus, she also made a good friend in Remus Lupin; the only marauder who she liked. But her friendship with Severus was beginning to crack by the end of their fourth year when James Potter saved Severus's life, but the boy was told to not speak of it. By their fifth year, she ended her relationship with Severus due to the fact that his interest in the dark arts only grew and he called her 'mudblood'.

And since the end of sixth year, she had found an unlikely friendship in James Potter. Well, that's what she thought they were. She had been less hostile towards him and she could see he was trying to change; and the two of them had shared two kisses and she was starting to realise that her feelings towards the Potter boy were changing. This is what confused her. James was supposed to be a boy who showed off to try and impress her and his efforts failed, he was supposed to be a boy who hexed people for the fun of it, a boy she was supposed to dislike.

Now she was feeling conflicted, the two sides of her battling each other over what she was supposed to feel about James Potter. One side was screaming at her to stop the madness and to go back to hating him, a leopard never changes it spots. The other was calmer, a voice of reason in a sense. It was telling her that it was okay to like him, that people could change if people were willing to give them a chance.

It was just she was finishing dinner and exited the Great Hall that Tuesday evening when James walked into the entrance hall covered in mud.; having just finished Quidditch practice. As she decided to go over and talk to him, his fellow teammate Keira Hunt entered the castle and ran over to James. Keira was a blonde haired, green eyed fifth year who, according to rumours, had slept with James when she was thirteen. Lily rarely paid attention to school gossip but just watching the blonde bat her eyelids at James, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. She felt a surge of annoyance overcome her but resisted the urge to move from where she stood. She frowned in confusion as she watched James show no interest in Keira's flirtations, his facial expression remained like he was bored. _  
_

It was when she saw Keira lean in for a kiss that made her blood boil in anger, she stormed past the two of them and up the staircase; heading back for the common room.

"Lily!" James called.

She didn't stop, she carried on walking as James ran to catch up with her. Lily had never known jealousy before and seeing Keira lean in to kiss the boy she liked was enough to make her mad.

"Lily!" James yelled.

It was when they reached the seventh floor corridor that James pulled her into an empty classroom. She swore loudly when he waved his wand and locked the door before casting a silencing charm around them.

"What's up with you?" James demanded, mud dripping onto the floor.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Keira Hunt if you must know." she yelled.

"What about her?" asked James.

"Flirting with you in the entrance hall, I saw everything." Lily growled.

James exhaled heavily and moved closer to her, his arms resting firmly but gently on her shoulders. Lily tried to move away from him but he held her still, he gave her a small smile and went to move in for a kiss. Lily pulled away from him, and took his hands off her shoulders, she paced the room for a few minutes; neither of them saying a word.

"Lily?"

She turned to him, feeling more confused than ever.

"What?" she snapped.

"I didn't reciprocate her advances." James muttered.

"Hardly matters." Lily replied.

James frowned and once again moved towards her, she backed towards the door; hitting it with a small thud. James was inches away from her, he was so close that she could feel his breath on her face. It was just him being this close that made the side of her that wanted James scream in triumph over the side that wanted her to not like him at all. The last two kisses that they had shared had caused her to lose focus on her surroundings and what had been going on, it was like she had always had some barrier around her to protect herself from getting hurt and James was beginning to tear down those barriers.

"What do you mean it hardly matters?" he questioned.

Lily gulped, it was hard for her to think straight.

"It's just hard for me to accept that you can change." she answered.

Still he didn't move, merely smiled at her.

"Because before I was a constant show-off, detention goer and prankster who sought attention?" he chuckled.

She nodded dreamily, his hazel eyes warm; this was making her lose focus once more. _Dammit! _She thought.

"Lily, I'm trying here. The only girl who's attention that I want now is yours; you're the only girl that I like." James stated.

"What about Keira?" asked Lily.

"Keira's just a teammate." replied James.

"But you've shagged her before yeah?" asked Lily.

James went red and shook his head.

"I never slept with her, those were rumours that Snape started because he saw us walking back from practice once. He assumed that because we were alone and we were harmlessly flirting that we were sleeping together." said James.

"Why would Sev-

James huffed, "It hardly matters now, it was two years ago! Can we not talk about Snape?".

Lily blinked, slightly surprised at his snappiness.

"Sure, what would you prefer to talk about?" she asked, feeling a little annoyed that he had snapped at her.

James rolled his eyes and pressed his lips to hers, instantly moving them against her own. Lily clung to his shirt as his tongue entered her mouth and his hands went to her waist, gripping firmly there. Once more Lily forgot about where they were, what they had been talking about and the fact that James was in his Quidditch robes covered in mud. After a few minutes, she pulled away to gasp for air and gave him a smile; the part of her still fighting to stop her feelings for the boy seemed to be losing right now.

"So how about you come with me to the village before Christmas holidays?" asked James.

"Second date?" she teased.

James grinned, "I was thinking more of a third." he replied.

Lily frowned, "Third?" she asked.

"Because tonight we're not on duty and I want to surprise you." James answered her.

Still continuing to frown, "Potter if you think I'm going to sneak out after curfew-

James silenced her with a quick peck on her lips, causing her to blush the same colour as her hair.

"We won't get caught, I have a handy little thing that will help us." James promised.

Lily nodded dreamily and once the silencing charm had been undone and the door unlocked, the two of them walked back to Gryffindor Tower so that they could shower before James took her for her 'surprise'.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you like this chapter, the next one will hopefully be up next week. Would be up this weekend but it's my birthday tomorrow! so I'm having a whole weekend to celebrate with family. **

**As always leave a review :) **


	10. Chapter 10

That night, Lily met James in the common room at eleven after everyone else had already turned in for the night. He greeted her with a smile and stood next to her. The next minute, Lily gasped in surprise as James threw a cloak around the two of them. She glanced in a mirror and saw that the two of them were completely invisible.

She wanted to question him as to where he had gotten an invisibility cloak and where he was taking her but he put a finger to his lips and indicated that she should be quiet. Lily obeyed his request and silently, the two of them left the common room. The only source of light were the occasional lamps that were lit along the corridors, the two of them walked slowly and quietly to avoid being caught by roaming prefects and teachers.

Lily finally knew where they were going when they reached the steps to the Astronomy tower and James led the two of them up the winding staircase. She began to think what James could have planned for the two of them as they continued the long climb to the top of the tower.

When they reached the top, she was taken by surprise. Waiting for them were blankets, a basket full of treats from Honeydukes, a bottle of non-alcoholic wine and two glasses and a jar burning with flames on the inside. Lily felt her heart soar in affection for the little surprise that James had arranged for them. It was a clear night, the stars twinkling in the jet black sky. James threw the invisibility cloak to one side before waving his wand to the door and it instantly locked; ensuring that the two of them would not be disturbed.

"So what do you think?" asked James as he sat on one of the blankets.

Lily walked over and sat on the concrete next to him, smiling gratefully as he wrapped a blanket around her body to protect her from the winter chill. Nobody had ever done anything this nice for her before and she felt so happy that James was that thoughtful.

"I think it's lovely." she admitted.

James smiled and poured them both a glass of wine, he handed her one and she took a sip; not minding one bit that James wrapped his arm over her shoulder to be closer to her. Both of them remained silent for a short while as they looked up at the night sky, Lily laughing as James tried to point out constellations.

"I think that one's Orion's belt." said James as he pointed in the opposite direction to where the true Orion's belt was.

Lily laughed loudly as she drained the rest of her glass and helped herself to a fizzing whizzbee.

"No that's Orion's belt." Lily laughed as she pointed to the correct constellation.

James smiled as he took Lily's pointed hand in his and kissed the back of it, shivering at how cold her skin was.

"You're freezing." he pointed out.

Lily shrugged, "Only my hands." she replied.

James moved the flame lit jar in front of Lily, placing her hands in front of it in order to warm her hands up a little. She smiled in gratitude as she turned her hands back and forth in front of the jar, instantly feeling the warmth coming back to her hands. As James watched her, he found himself unable to speak. Her green eyes lit up brightly in the orange light, keeping him glued to the spot where he sat. It was like they were the gravity that kept him from floating away from the earth. Her skin ivory with a a light shade of pink as she began to get warmer, her red hair even darker in the flame light, floating down her back. She was truly beautiful in his eyes.

Lily looked at him, questioning as to why he was staring at her.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked quietly.

James cleared his throat before answering her.

"You're extremely beautiful Lily Evans." James replied.

Lily blushed and turned away from him, but his finger slid under her chin and he gently moved her face back to meet his gaze; wondering why she looked away from him when he had merely told her the truth.

"Did I insult you?" asked James.

Lily shook her head, "No-one's ever said that to me before." she replied.

James smiled, "They were probably intimidated by you." he said.

Lily sighed heavily causing James to frown in concern.

"What is it?" he questioned.

"Aside from my friends, everyone else thinks I'm just a goody goody and a spoil sport. I work hard to achieve what I want. Severus saw me as a friend until he called me mudblood, Avery and Mulciber just want in between my legs to 'show me what pureblood tastes like' and my sister constantly reminds me every holiday that I go home how much of a freak I am so with you saying that people are intimidated by me, it's hard to believe so." Lily explained.

James cupped her face, refusing to let her look away from him.

"Listen to me, you aren't a freak and never will be. You're extraordinary by the way you care about Remus and are friends with him despite his affliction. You're caring when Marlene has a shit day and needs to cry, you're clever how you get the best grades and even if you don't get the very top grades, your determination makes you admirable that you don't want to give up. You're witty by the way we can have a bit of banter and that makes me smile. You're captivating by the way you kiss me and that just makes me want to make you happy in every way I possibly can. Lily, you're the most amazing person I've ever met and I'm trying to be a person who's worthy of your affection, that's how much you make me want to change my ways and mature up a bit. Evans, that's how I see you through my eyes and I wish you could see yourself as I see you, because the girl I see is remarkable." he whispered softly to her.

Lily felt like crying tears of happiness, never before had anyone told her anything that amazingly sweet before. James was melting away her barriers and she found herself unable to stop him anymore. She wanted him too in fact, she wanted to find someone she could become one with. Her feelings for James were beginning to get stronger and that scared her, she had never felt this way about someone before.

Before she could reply to James's sweet declaration of how he saw her, he softly pressed his lips to hers and kissed her deeply all the while continuing to cup her face. She felt herself falling so she gripped onto the front of James's robes to steady herself. James moved one of his hands to bottom of her back and gently moved her backwards so that she lay on top of the blanket with him hovering over her as he continued to deeply kiss her. Her arms circled around his neck, his tongue massaging against her own so slowly.

After several minutes, they both ended the kiss but continued to lay how they were with their noses touching each other's. Both wondering if they should pursue a relationship, both wishing that they could read the other's mind.

"So what happens now?" asked Lily quietly.

"How about we take this slowly as it's both new to us?" suggested James.

Lily nodded slowly, "Third date to Hogsmeade?" she asked.

"Yes Lily, in a few weeks. But until then what are we calling this?" he asked.

She blinked in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

"I mean are you my girlfriend? Are you a girl that I'm seeing exclusively without putting a label on it? Are we going to see each other and other people?" asked James quietly.

"Oh erm I don't want to see other people, I don't think that's fair to either of us and if we did that then we'd both get hurt as there are feelings there." she replied.

James nodded in understanding.

"I suppose we could just see how it goes for now." said Lily.

"Okay I can do that but if our third date goes well then I'm officially asking you to be my girlfriend." James whispered with a grin.

Lily couldn't help but return his grin and helped herself to another fizzing whizzbee from the basket as the two of them sat up. James wrapped his arm once more around Lily's shoulder as they continued to gaze up at the night's sky.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to those who wished me a happy birthday, I went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford with my sister and had an amazing time even if it was busy due to school holidays and the fire alarm went off when we were halfway through the queue. **

**Hope you liked this chapter and as always please leave a review :) **


	11. Chapter 11

"Lily, ready to go?"

Lily nodded and smiled as James took hold of her hand and the two of them pushed their scarves over their faces; so that only their eyes were visible through the blizzard like storm that had hit the castle since the start of December. She could feel James holding onto her tightly as the harsh winds sped through them, trying to knock over the crowd of students that were determined to get to the village.

They couldn't have a conversation with one another until they went straight for Honeydukes, and once inside the sweet shop they instantly held onto each other as they began to browse the shop. They picked up various sweets as they made their way through the crowd, from fizzing whizzbees to acid pops to chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's every flavour beans.

She couldn't help but go bright red at James's insistence that he pay for her items when they reached the till, she tried arguing but before she could hand over the money; James had already placed his money in the sales assistant's hand. They hurried out of the shop and headed up the high street, going into Zonko's Joke Shop and Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop so that Lily could buy a new quill. Deciding that the weather was too much to handle when they were trying to do some shopping, Lily and James decided to head to The Three Broomsticks.

Once inside the warmth of the crowded pub, Lily went up to the bar to get two butterbeers whilst James went to find a seat for the two of them. He managed to get a seat not too far from the bar. He smiled as Lily returned to the table holding the drinks, he took one and thanked her before taking a large gulp; feeling himself beginning to warm up as the drink travelled down his throat.

"So what are your plans for Christmas?" asked James.

Lily put her bottle down on the table after taking a mouthful of her own butterbeer.

"I'm staying at the castle this year. Petunia's bringing home the boyfriend and she requested that if I come home for the holidays that I act 'normal' so I'm avoiding her at all costs." replied Lily.

"Your sister's harsh isn't she?"

Lily shrugged, "I've accepted that my relationship with Petunia won't be a typical sisterly bond with sharing clothes and secrets. Petunia despises me because of what I am and there was a time when she wanted to be one too. You could say that her hatred of me is due to jealousy." said Lily.

They sat in silence for a few minutes as they finished the rest of their butterbeers. James couldn't believe that anyone could be that way with Lily, but he knew that she wouldn't exaggerate about something like that. Once James had finished his drink, he moved his chair closer to Lily's; hoping that she wouldn't mind him doing so. She didn't say anything, just finished her drink and smiled at him.

"I wish there was something I could do to change it." said James.

Lily patted his arm gratefully.

"Thank you, but there isn't. My parents have tried and failed so it is what it is." she sighed.

"Then I'll consider myself lucky that I don't have any blood siblings." James joked.

"None at all?"

James shook his head, "I consider Sirius, Remus and Peter as the brothers I never had." he replied.

Lily nodded in agreement, "I think the same of the girls just not as brothers." she chuckled.

She could feel her head moving closer to James's, leaning in to kiss him but before she could they were interrupted by the door opening and the winter cold swept through the pub; making everyone pull their jackets tighter around them. The two watched as Marlene and Sirius entered the pub, with Marlene looking very annoyed and Sirius sporting a huge grin on his face.

"Come on it was only a joke!" Sirius chortled.

Marlene turned around, eyes narrowed in a murderous glare.

"He was only asking me how I was, you don't get to dictate who I can and cannot talk to." Marlene snapped.

"I did no such thing. He couldn't stop staring at your chest!" Sirius defended.

"Well if you hadn't have drenched my coat in water bombs then I wouldn't have had to take it off. Besides it's a compliment to have a boy other than you take an interest in me." Marlene yelled.

"Come on Marley, I only cast a toe nail growth charm on him to teach him a lesson for staring." Sirius groaned.

"His toe nails grew to the size of a broomstick before the shop keeper stepped in. His shoes were completely ruined. And what is it to you if he stares? I'm not your girlfriend." Marlene shouted.

Sirius ordered the two of them drinks, lucky that their argument could only be heard by the few that were sitting by the bar that included Lily and James. Both of them smiled in curiosity at what had happened on Marlene and Sirius's second date.

"Black you seriously need to grow up!"

Sirius rolled his eyes as he handed a butterbeer to Marlene and placed a tiny kiss on Marlene's lips that seemed to make her stop thinking let alone talking. Lily chuckled quietly as they watched their two friends walk off into the crowd to find a seat. James turned back to Lily, catching her off guard as he captured her lips with his own. Lily cupped James's face in her hands as she melted into the kiss, drowning out the sound of chattering in the pub as she moved her lips in sync with James's.

After a few minutes, she pulled away to catch her breath; still not having gotten used to James leaving her completely breathless after sharing a kiss with the raven haired boy.

"Lily?"

She turned to face him, smiling warmly as she held his hand in hers.

"Yes James?" she asked.

"Be my girlfriend?" he whispered.

Lily nodded as she smiled wider than she ever had before and flung her arms around his neck, feeling happy that he had finally asked her that question that she had been waiting for the whole day.


End file.
